Washing-machine.



W. R. KRAMER.

WASHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR-5. 1908.

Patented Jan.25, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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v Ql'botnwj M01070" D F W. R. KRAMER.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MARE, 190a.

Patented Jan.25, 1910.

2 SHBETBBHEET 2.

(Q'Rifi'razmar WILLIA1V.[ R. KRAMER, OF CELINA, OHIO.

WASHING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

l atent'ed Jan. 25, 1910.

Application filed March 5, 1908. Serial No. 419,366.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, VILLIAH It. Knaunn, citizen of the United States,residing at (Jelina, in the county of Mercer and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in iVashing-Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention contemplates certain new and useful improvements inwashing machines, and the object of the invention is an improvedpounderoperating device by means of which the pounder may beconveniently operated with a minimum amount of power to effectuallycleanse the garments, and which is arranged to automatically rotate thepounder upon the reciprocation thereof, and thus cause the latter tostrike the garments at different points upon successive strokes.

With this and other objects in view that will more fully appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructionsand arrangements of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describeand claim.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, and toacquire a knowledge of the details of construction and the means foreffecting the result, reference is to be had to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved washing machine; Fig. 2 isa side elevation thereof, with parts in section; Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section of one of the pounders. Fig. 4; is a transversesection thereof; Fig. 5 is a detail view, in perspective, of the stand,showing its auxiliary frame extended; and, Fig. 6 is a similar view,showing the adjustable connection of a pounder and the yoke.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates 'a stand which isadapted to support a tub containing garments designed to be washed by myimproved washer, and which comprises a preferably triangular frame 2 andsupporting legs 3 secured to the latter at the corners thereof, one ofsaid legs being extended upwardly to form a standard 4. In the preferredconstruction of the stand, the latter is provided with an auxiliarytriangular frame 5 which is preferably lower than the frame 2, and which1s supported at two corners by legs 3, the

other corner of the frame having a sliding connection with a cross-bar(i secured to the connection with the crossbar 6, and is designed tosupport an extra tub of water which may be desired for use during theprocess of washing. 7

The upper extremity of the standard 1 is reduced to form an upwardlyfacing shoulder 7, and a sleeve 8 is rotatably mounted on the reducedextremity and rests upon the shoulder 7, said sleeve being formed withan outstanding eye 9. An arm 10 is also carried by the sleeve, andextends above the eye, then outwardly horizontally, then dowmvardly, andfinally in an inclined dircction downwardly and outwardly from the post,said arm being formed at its lower extremity with an opening 11extending therethrough.

An actuating lever is connected to the sleeve 8, and is constructed intwo spaced ll'lOll'lbOl'S 12 which are pivotally connected at one end ofthe eye 9, by a longitudinal slot and pin connection, as shown and tothe other end of which is secured a handle These spaced members extendon opposite sides of the downwardly projecting portion of the arm 10,and are provided with a transverse stud 14; that is slidingly mounted ina substantially vertical slot 15 formed in such portion of the arm,which thus constitutes a guide and limits the swinging movement of thelever. Intermediate of their ends, the members 12 carry spaced pins 1.0,and are formed at their upper edges, contiguous to such pins, withcorresponding upwardly disposed segmental cars 17, and at their loweredges with de pending segmental lips 18.

A suspension rod 19 is pivotally mounted at its upper end between thespaced pins 16 and is adj ustably supported in position by means of athumb screw 20 mounted on its threaded upper extremity and bearingagainst the upturned cars 17, a ratchet wheel 2'1v being rigidly mountedon the rod below the actuating lever, and being formed with an upwardlyextending hub portion that constitutes an upwardly facing shoulder 22.This shoulder is adapted to bear against the depending lips 18 to limitthe independent upward movement of the rod, a washer be ing preferablyinterposed between such shoulder and the depending lips. The ratchetwheel 21 is designed to be engaged by a pawl 23 which is pivotallyconnected to one of the members 12 of the lever, and which has itsindependent downward movement limited by a stop, 24 projecting from suchmember of the lever, said pawl being formed at its lower extremity witha lug 25 that is arranged to prevent any transverse movement of the pawlto permit the latter to be accidentally disengaged from the ratchet.

Below the ratchet wheel, the rod 19 passes through the opening 11 in thearm, with its lower end protruding therefrom and carrying a yoke 26which is perpendicular to and rigid with the rod, and is formed at itsends with slots 27 and depending prongs 28. Two pounders 29 are securedto the respective ends of the yoke by means of threaded stems 30 mountedin the slots 27 and held therein by nuts engaged with such stems. Thesepounders are formed in their upper ends with a plurality of sockets 31which are arranged to receive the depending prongs 28 of the yoke tobrace the pounders against any accidental movement after they have beensecured by the stems and nuts in the desired adjusted relation. Each ofthese pounders is preferably divided into a plurality of air cells bymeans of perforated webs 32.

In order to sustain the actuating lever in a substantially horizontalposition when not in use, and to raise the same to such position afterthe lever has been swung downwardly, a spring 33 is provided, andcomprises a strip of spring wire which is doubled upon itselfintermediate of its ends and passes beneath that portion of the arm 10that is above the eye 9, the ends of said strip passing over outstandingprojections carried by the arm 10, and being coiled in front of the saidprojections, as shown. The extremities of the strip are curved upwardlyand engaged with the downwardly facing hooked extremity of the link 33*,the lower extremity of said link being hooked around the same pin onwhich the pawl 23 is mounted, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In the practical use of my improved washing machine, the suspension rod19 is reciprocated by means of the handle 13 to cause the pounders tostrike the garments in the tub supported upon the frame 2 of the stand.Upon the downward movement of theactuati'ng lever, the lower end of therod 19 is swung outwardly so that the shoulder 22 bears against theouter ends of the depending lips 18, thus causing the pawls 23 to ridebackwardly and drop into engagement with the next tooth of the ratchet.The upward movement of the handle returns l the rod to its normalposition, and raises the pawl, which movement obviously advances thetooth wlth which the aawl is in en a 'ement, and thus effects thepartial rotation of the ratchet wheel. The movement of the ratchet wheelpartially rotates the pounders 29, and thus causes the latter to strikethe garments in the tub at a different point upon the next stroke of theactuating lever.

In the present instance, the ears 17 and lips 18 are formed at the upperand lower edges of two substantially duplicate strips which are separatefrom the spaced members 12 and are disposed at the opposing facesthereof with the ears and lips projecting beyond the corresponding edgesof such members, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The spaced pins 16 passthrough the strips and the members 12 and serve to assist in securingthe former to the latter, while the strips are further held in properspaced relation and against the spaced members 12 through theinstrumentality of blocks interposed between the opposite ends of thestrips, as shown, suitable fastening means being preferably passedthrough the strips, blocks and said members to maintain all the parts inposition. It will be observed that in addition to their function justdescribed, the blocks also tend to brace the spaced members 12.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

A washing machine comprising a standard, a sleeve mounted on saidstandard and formed with an out-standing eye, an actuating lever havinga longitudinal slot and pin connection at one end with said eye, andformed in spaced members, an arm secured to said sleeve, and embodying aportion extending outwardly therefrom in a horizontal direction, anotherportion extending down wardly from the outer end of the horizontalportion. such downwardly extending portion being formed with a slot, andan inclined downwardly and outwardly projecting portion extending fromthe lower end of the downwardly extending portion with an openingextending therethrough, the actuat ing lever being formed with atransverse stud mounted in the said slot and the horizontally extendingportion of the arm being formed at opposite sides with outstandingprojections, a spring embodying parallel members connected at one end byacross bar, said members embracing and extending outwardly from oppositesides of the horizontal portion of the arm, and over the projectionsthereof with the cross bar extending underneath the arm back of saidprojections, a suspension rod extending between the spaced members ofthe actuating lever, the latter formed at their top and bottom edgeswith segmental ears and lips, a nut mounted upon the suspension rod andabutting against the cars, a ratchet secured to the suspenslon rod belowthe actuating lever, and formed with a hub portion adapted to bearagainst the segmental lips of the actuating lever, a pounder carried-bysaid rod, a pawl engaging said ratchet, a pin securing said pawl to theactuating lever, and a link having a lower hooked extremity engagingsaid last named pin and an upper, downwardly facing hookedextremity'engaging the forwardly extending ends of the sprin Intestimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM R. KRAMER.

Witnesses C. E. MARsH, \V. H. Conxnu.

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